In envisage of rise of two independent countries the Slovakofarma Hlohovec company providently created a daughter company in Prague. Its assumption indeed did come true and so they were able well in advance solve the possible bureaucratic problems of employees working for Slovakofarma and living in the Czech Republic. CM PHARMA Ltd company started to do business at 1 January 1993. Its Director Ing. Petr Fiala gave us this interview concerning the company activities.

Did Slovakofarma experienced any fundamental change in trading on the Czech market after division of the federation?

Influence of the European integration creates more competition in the Czech Republic. The competitors have registered here more pharmaceutical products and entered with larger marketing potential than in Slovakia. Thanks to competition of the European Union the market is more demanding not only in the field of pharmaceutics. The demography of the Czech Republic differs from the Slovak which is to be taken into account in marketing. It is necessary to keep on mind that there are two different markets.

Did you succeed to apply your knowledge of Czech market and the clients from the time of common state?

Slovakofarma have never left the Czech market and even after five years since separation of the common state, it may be said put in some quotation marks that in some sense Slovakofarma is still considered almost as a domestic producer. Of course from administrative point of view it doesn't appears so, because it is governed by Czech legislative and Slovakofarma is a foreign producer. Despite this fact in relation to market that is in pharmacies, in relation to doctors and after all even in ministries we are considered as kind of interlink. Neither domestic nor foreign.

Is this to understand that there are some advantages or disadvantages for a Slovak company in comparison to firms from other countries?

It can't be said that we are having any advantages. On the other hand the long lasting coexistence and cooperation between Czechia and Slovakia enables to Slovakofarma have incomparably more information about the Czech Republic than companies from other countries.

Would you disclose the share of Slovakofarma on Czech market of medicaments and other assortment?

It depends on visual angle. With exception of few product Slovakofarma does not have original preparations. Everything it produces is so called generic production, or in other words, agent originally produced by somebody else. We own the license or we are producing something similar but under different name. The price relations of offered assortment are lower than that of products manufactured by our competitors and are close to prices of domestic production. From the point of view of our share on Czech market we are on the second position right behind the Czech domestic producer Leciva. This trend is kept though our market share as a consequence of competition is slightly receding. Despite this fact we are keeping our second position and presumably we are able to keep it further. As an illustration here are some specific figures: our share on Czech market in financial terms is 8.8 % of the pharmaceutics but in number of sold prepackaged products the share is 20 %, since average price of our products is two to three times lower than products of others.

Slovak Trade FORUM